This is an analysis of the poem The Witnesses that begins with:

In Ocean's wide domains,
Half buried in the sands,... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: aaaaaaaaaaaaabaX aaaX XcXc adad abaX
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 16,4,4,4,4,
  • Closest metre: iambic trimeter
  • Сlosest rhyme: limerick
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: unknown form
  • Metre: 010101 110001 110001 010111 010101 101101 110111 110111 101111 100101 110101 110101 110101 110001 110101 1101000 011101 110111 1111001 1111010 110101 010101 101010 111011 110111 101111 010101 111101 110101 110001 110011 1101000
  • Amount of stanzas: 5
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 207
  • Average number of words per stanza: 32
  • Amount of lines: 32
  • Average number of symbols per line: 32 (medium-length strings)
  • Average number of words per line: 5
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

  • The author used lexical repetitions to emphasize a significant image; in, and are repeated.

    The poet used anaphora at the beginnings of some neighboring lines. The same words they, their are repeated.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The Witnesses;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow